I had taken the train to visit my father, to accompany him to medical appointments the next day. Due to thunderstorms the train was much delayed. When I finally arrived I found that the woman who set up the appointments did not leave adequate information about his medical appointments. I was not fully able to resolve the problem and finally dropped into bed, exhausted, and fell asleep right away. Sometime later I was startled to feel an orb of electrical energy filling my entire head. I could sense that it extended beyond my head. I immediately said to myself "Oh, Mom!". I was laying on my left side. I reached up to place my right hand on the outside of the orb. As my arm reached upward I noticed that my "real" arm remained in place, while a milky vision of my arm is what actually reached up and felt the orb. As I watched my milky arm raising upward I thought to myself "That's weird." I held the orb for a few seconds and then fell asleep again. I found out later that the timing of this event coincided with extreme, acute stress my husband was undergoing back at home related to his clinical depression.

Was this experience difficult to express in words?  No

Did you hear the deceased or hear something associated with the deceased?          No

Did you feel a touch or experience any physical contact from the deceased?            Yes

I sensed the orb of electrical energy and reached up to touch it

            Was the touch familiar or unfamiliar?   Not familiar

            Was anything communicated by the touch?  I instantly knew, without question that it was my mother and reached up to greet her.

            Is there any possibility what you felt was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?  No

Did you see the deceased?         Uncertain

As I watched my arm raise upward I saw the electrical orb of energy as a very thin milky substance. That is, it was not a dense milky-ness.

            How clearly did the deceased appear?            The orb was quite transparent.

            How much of the deceased did you see?       Not applicable

            Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died?       Not applicable

            How healthy did the deceased appear to be?            Not applicable

            Is there any possibility what you saw was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?           No

Did you smell a distinct smell, scent, fragrance or odor associated with the deceased?      No

How long did the experience last?        I would guess a minute or so at the most

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?         Began and ended suddenly.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?           No

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  No information was conveyed

How do you currently view the reality of your experience?           Experience was definitely real

            Please explain why you view the reality of your experience as real or not real:           Basically I just knew it was real. In addition, the experience barged in on me when I was in no way thinking about my mother because of the stress of travel delays and trying to figure out where I was supposed to take my father the next day. The entire next day I would think for a few moments about what had happened, never placing it in the context of a dream. Also, later I learned that the experience happened at about the same time my husband was in crisis at home. I believe mu mother was telling me that she is here with me as I go through life.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           None. I simply greeted my mother as though it was a perfectly natural and normal thing to be happening.

Was there any emotional healing in any way following the experience?           Uncertain

I had no negative issues with my mother; any emotional healing was in regard to giving me strength to deal with my husband's issues.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      The best outcome is knowing that my mother is never far away. No worst part.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Yes                 Describe:      I am more calm, happier and even joyful much of the time.

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     I am much more spiritual. I find comfort in Catholic mass but do not believe all the dogma and rules associated with it. It was easier to accept my father's eventual death and of others.

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?            Yes     I know that love never dies but lives on, death is not a bad thing, and we are not alone as we go through life. It also gives me more motivation to help others and be patient with them.

Death Compacts are when two or more living people promise among themselves that whoever dies first will try to contact the other(s).  Have you ever made such a compact?        No

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          Uncertain The timing of this even was the same time my husband was in acute crisis.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            None immediately as I was totally focused on my father's issues. After that, I was confused for a while as to what she wanted. However, after I learned of the connection between the event and my husband's crisis I was stunned, thought it through and finally reached the conclusion that she had reached out to me for what was to be a rough period of my life.

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           No

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   No

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    No

Did you become aware of future events?       No

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         Yes

Just once. Another employee at my work that I had occasional dealings with was in the hospital. One morning as I awoke I saw a blip of light zoom up a tunnel and said to myself "There goes Frank." I found out later his time of death was about 2 hours after my experience.

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Uncertain

Not really, but noticed I gained an arm during the experience!

Did you meet or see any other beings other than the deceased?            No

Did you see a light?           No

Did any part of your experience seem to occur in a place other than the location described above?            No

Have you shared this experience with others?        

Yes     Some eager to hear, some skeptical. One person is interested enough to do some reading.

Have you shared this experience formally or informally with any other researcher or web site?   No

 Is there anything else you would like to add regarding your experience?       I wonder if the storm played any part. It was powerful enough to knock out power to a number of towns. Was she able to get through because of a disturbance of electrical fields that night?

Were there any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?            No

Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         No 

Did you ever in your life have a near-death experience, out of body experience or other spiritual event?           No 

Did the questions asked and information you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?               Yes

Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire.    It seems like an odd question but I do wonder if stormy conditions contribute to similar events.